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The burgeoning crowdfunding industry is giving
entrepreneurs more access to capital, but if spent foolishly,
even unlimited amounts of money will not support a single
successful business. Money paired with mentorship can turn
ideas into growing businesses.

Springfield, Mo.-based CrowdIt, a crowdfunding portal which
launches today, is building mentorship into its DNA. "To
support success takes a lot more than just funding, or
capital," says co-founder and CEO Jason Graf. Many businesses
fail, not for a lack of capital, but because the founder
doesn’t have experience, Graf says. By combining crowdfunding
with professional networking, CrowdIt wants to help more
entrepreneurs launch startups and grow, says Graf.

As the crowdfunding industry has grown, so too has the number of
platforms. In an increasingly competitive market, crowdfunding
portals need to differentiate themselves. Interactive networking
for entrepreneurs make CrowdIt different from many existing
sites, says Graf.

CrowdIt joins several crowdfunding sites that combine funding
with mentorship. For example, London-based portal Crowd Fund Magic offers networking with
investors and mentors. New York City-based Pave.com allows young entrepreneurs to
exchange funding from a group of backers for a portion of
their future income for a period of time. Pave.com backers
donate time and expertise.

CrowdIt’s term for project holders seeking funding is "dreamers,"
and experts providing advice are called "suits." A "suit" is
anything from an angel investor to a venture capitalist,
accredited investor, lawyer or tax accountant. "We view ourselves
as more of a virtual incubator than we do just a first generation
crowdfunding portal," says Graf. "We hope to be providing a lot
of the same services that a traditional incubator would provide,
but we are hoping to do that through the community."

One potential roadblock to creating an online community of active
mentors is that experts are very likely busy and reluctant to
give away time without something in return, according to Carl
Esposti, the founder of the Los Angeles-based Crowdsourcing.org.

Graf is aware of this challenge. He has attempted to establish a
level of exclusivity to the title of "suit," making the title
desirable to relevant experts. To be a "suit," you have to be
either an accredited investor, hold a higher education degree
from an accredited university and provide proof of that diploma,
have some certification or accreditation and provide proof, or
you have to be verified by three other existing "suits" on
CrowdIt. A "suit" is rewarded with access to invest in
entrepreneurial projects being launched on CrowdIt.com before the
public does. The "suits" portion of CrowdIt will launch in
approximately one week.

Graf envisions the CrowdIt community of experts looking a lot
like a LinkedIn model, with experts engaging in conversations to
promote their own personal brand. For noninvestors offering
ancillary services, such as lawyers and accountants, giving
advice to the CrowdIt community is expected to be a way of
attracting new clients. "You are going to go to the accountant
that maybe gave you some tax advice early on," says Graf. Before
the site formally launched, Graf was approached by a number of
experts, including from some seemingly surprising industries,
like manufacturing and architecture.

The crowdfunding industry will include both these "virtual
incubator" type portals and the donation-based platforms where a
project designer gets only funding. "No size fits all," says
Kevin Berg Kartaszewicz-Grell, director of research at
crowdsourcing industry-research firm massolution. "Some companies will have
great use of a mentorship program, some companies will not
need it, and I think the marketplace is flexible enough to
hold both models."